Kramer works in the Los Angeles office and specializes in film financing and distribution. Kramer has been deeply involved in the packaging, financing, and sale of such films as the James Cameron-produced Sanctum; Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman; Robert Redford’s The Conspirator; and the Michael Mann-produced The Fields. In addition, he has helped to secure financing and distribution for a number of upcoming independently produced and financed films, including The Grey, Peep World, The Expatriate, Higher Ground, The Good Doctor, and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.
Most recently, he has financed and packaged 2016 Sundance hit Frank & Lola.
Kramer began his career at the William Morris Agency. He joined CAA in 2005. He graduated from Wesleyan University with degrees in Political Science and Film Studies.
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Free State of Jones Special Thanks 2016
First Look At ‘Frank & Lola’ Starring Michael Shannon & Imogen Poots | Deadline | Jan 22, 2016
Some first time filmmakers keep their story lines simple, but not Ross (who shouldn’t be confused with American Horror Story actor Matt Ross; also here in Park City with his sophomore outing Captain Fantastic). The former Variety reporter and Filmmaker editor has crafted a complex psycho-sexual love story here, with hues of Jacques Audiard’s The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris among other titles.
Ross drew inspiration for Frank & Lola from a close friend, who endured a hellish relationship with a predatory boyfriend. States Ross about the angle he took,“I wanted to tell a fictionalized story that imagined the immediate aftermath of that real experience, before the character, Lola, is ready to confront what has just happened to her and is still acting out and avoiding full the truth of it all, and how that denial affects both her and her new boyfriend, Frank. I chose to tell the story from Frank’s perspective, who comes to the table with his own complicated history and emotional baggage, because I felt like that would be a more honest perspective for me to write from (as opposed to telling it from Lola’s point of view). I also had always wanted to tell something of a ‘what if’ revenge fantasy, where a regular guy finds himself, through an unfortunate set of coinciding circumstances, in a position of avenging a wrong, and does so in a way that goes well beyond the usual conventions of what would be considered sane or normal behavior.”
Parts & Labor producers Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen initially mounted Frank & Lola and kept it alive through the lean and mean times when stars and financing fell in and out of place. The duo were previously behind Beginners which won Christopher Plummer a best supporting actor Oscar and last year’s Sundance entry The Witch. Frank & Lola was further fastened together by EPs Christine Vachon and Killer Films’ David Hinojosa, film financier and sales agent Kevin Iwashina, Ross’ manager Michael Diamond and producer John Baker. Through Iwashina, Lola Pictures, a Nevada-based financing and production company committed to the project. It was then that Ross decided to change the film’s setting to the opulence of Las Vegas — a perfect match that mirrored two outsider, mysterious protagonists. After Lola Pictures signed on, production commenced with financing from Robert Halmi’s Great Point Media. Stated Ross in notes, “The other financing had fallen through at the last minute, and Great Point, along with CAA’s Ben Kramer, who found them, saved the movie at the last possible moment.” About a year ago, Arclight films acquired all foreign on Frank & Lola out of Berlin.
Michael Nyqvist, Justin Long, Emmanuelle Devos and Rosanna Arquette also star in the film. CAA and Preferred Content are handling domestic sales for Frank & Lola. The film’s press and industry screening will be held on Saturday.
Film Finance Agent, CAA
In the world of indie film financing, Kramer, 33, is a key player in the evolving definition of what actually makes a film independent. As true indies now break the bank with budgets in the nine figures, Kramer says careful handling of investors is required. “The world has changed from what was pure indie and pure studio,” he says. “You work with a spectrum of investors today.” He’s helped find funds and distribution deals for films like End of Watch, Blood Ties and The Sessions, and also uncovered opportunities to transition actors and writers such as Matthew Weiner, Ralph Fiennes and Vera Farmiga into filmmakers. “It’s not just about playing matchmaker with investors and directors,” he says. “It’s about helping people be smart with investments.” And being at CAA, says the Wesleyan grad, helps him appreciate how everyone gets into the fray for every challenge. “Armchair generals are distasteful. I’m impressed by people who lead from the front.”
Using found footage, the story explores the possibility that manned moon missions did not stop with Apollo 17.
Agent: CAA — Billy Hawkins, Ben Kramer
Manager: Caliber Media — Dallas Sonnier
Dark Castle Entertainment. Weed Road Pictures producing.